Big Business this Thursday, October 4th, at Kings

Big Business has always seemed like a band consisting of more members than were visible to the naked eye. From the first tours as a power duo to more recent appearances as a quartet, their live presence suggests unseen forces crowding the stage; ghost-like apparitions pressing doses of weighted, concentrated sound through the air. They have the ability to be both crushing and ethereal, floating carefully considered melody and hook over the stomp and thunder of driving instrumentation. To watch this unfold is to marvel at their ability to deliver technically-influenced, expansive chaos in such a controlled manner. The blur of arms and cymbals animating the air from behind the drum kit seems to be contained and channeled through the stoic concentration of the vocal delivery, everything circling and building to complete its march towards the listener.

The actual success of a Big Business performance is how easily you find yourself engaged in their efforts. With all of the aforementioned elements considered, a band of this magnitude could find themselves slipping into the territory of being too introverted, isolating themselves from the listener and ultimately alienating them. The ease with which their set is delivered seems to soften the storm being unfurled and elevates them from potentially being only a "band's band" and establishes them as a must-see crowd favorite. It's great fun to brace yourself against the volume and stand among the bodies, nodding heads to each other, letting the sounds become almost tangible.

House of Lightning, a thrash duo from Florida and Wilmington's Thunderlip (who recently rocked the walls at Slims with Colossus) will open the show this Thursday, October 4th at Kings Barcade. Kings Barcade is located at 14 W. Martin Street in downtown Raleigh. Doors open at 9pm and the show begins at 9:30pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of show.